Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Experts Fear Discussion of Putin-Backed Russian Nation Law will Spark New Ethnic Conflicts

Paul
Goble

Staunton, November 23 – Although many
Moscow commentators suggest Russians are largely indifferent to the proposed new
law on the status of the Russian nation, others say that even the discussion of
that measure, especially given its current lack of clear definition, could by
itself spark new ethnic conflicts.

Among those taking the latter
position are the leaders of the Moscow Human Rights Bureau which has prepared a
position paper that has been sent to key government officials and experts but
that has not yet been published. Yesterday, “Izvestiya” on the basis of a copy
provided an initial commentary (izvestia.ru/news/646530).

At least in part to ensure that its
proposals will not be rejected out of hand, the document begins by asserting
that it backs the idea of a new law because it will in the opinion of the group
“create a legitimate basis for the civic consolidation” of the citizens of the
Russian Federation.”

But the document continues, “it is
necessary to prevent the discussion around the idea of creating such a federal
law” from sparking in one or another part of the Russian Federation “nationalistic
or xenophobic” ideas and from “dishonest and risky ethno-political interpretations.”

“At the same time,” the document
continues, such “civic unity must not be treated as an all-embracing uniformity”
that would threaten the identities of various groups. To that end, the Moscow
Human Rights Bureau called for the development of principles to guide the
discussion and the activity of officials who deal with it.

That is especially important,
Aleksandr Brod, the director of the Moscow Bureau said, because at present the
number of crimes arising from ethnic hatred has fallen but “there exist
definite risks connected both with socio-economic difficulties and problems in
the sphere of cultural legal education” that could reverse that trend.

Duma deputies with whom “Izvestiya”
spoke agreed that it is absolutely necessarily to approach the issue of a law
on the Russian nation “wisely,” “unhurriedly” and with extreme care lest people
say things that have the effect of leading to problems.Many independent commentators share that
view.

But others say that the biggest
problem with any law on the Russian nation may lie elsewhere. Aleksey Makarkin,
the deputy director of the Moscow Center for Political Technologies, suggests
that most people are not going to take this legislation seriously because they
have seen so much declarative law that is never enforced.

“We have a great many ‘decorative’
decuments,” he says, and “another one isn’t going to change the weather,” certainly
not one that tries to define the Russian nation. Instead, Makarkin suggested,
as have others, that the more critical part of the new law will be the section
on how to resolve inter-ethnic conflicts. At present, too few people are
talking about that.